Choice Between Rikon 10-3061 and Griz GO555LX 14"

[Derek Arita]

Their prices are pretty close. I've got very limited floor space and want something very mobile. I just sold an older MM16 to get more space. I don't use a bandsaw often, but when I do, I like it to be quick and easy to use. To add fuel to the fire, there's a Rikon 14" nearly new, near me for $1400...way out of my price range, but tempting. Anyhow, help me make a choice, please.

[James Jayko]

10" seems awfully limiting out of the gate, no?

It's not on your list, but I've got a Laguna 14/12 and I love it. Not sure if you can pick one up used, but that's a great saw out of the box.

[Derek Arita]

10" seems awfully limiting out of the gate, no?

It's not on your list, but I've got a Laguna 14/12 and I love it. Not sure if you can pick one up used, but that's a great saw out of the box.

Too much $ for an old man who's supposed to be down sizing. I already sold my cabinet saw and got a SS JSPro, sold my big DC and got a small one and just sold my MM16 and want something smaller maybe a lot smaller, since I don't use it much.

[Dave Sabo]

Those saws are not remotely in the same class or caliber.

If you do go for the smaller , less stiff and less powerful Rikon - you should prob. look at the all its kissin cousins. That 10" saw was/is marketed by lots of firms incld. Grizzly, Craftsman, ect........ And they are all less money than the Rikon !

[Derek Arita]

Those saws are not remotely in the same class or caliber.

If you do go for the smaller , less stiff and less powerful Rikon - you should prob. look at the all its kissin cousins. That 10" saw was/is marketed by lots of firms incld. Grizzly, Craftsman, ect........ And they are all less money than the Rikon !

Dave, are you then saying the Griz is far superior? Is there a better choice at the same or lesser price?

[John Kananis]

What do you use your bandsaw for? Now that you don't have a cabinet saw any longer, there's a possibility you could rely more on your bandsaw for larger rips, etc.

[Derek Arita]

What do you use your bandsaw for? Now that you don't have a cabinet saw any longer, there's a possibility you could rely more on your bandsaw for larger rips, etc.

I use it for occasional resawing and cutting odd shapes. My old saw was too cumbersome to bring out for quick use, I usually ended up using a jig saw.

[Dave Sabo]

Dave, are you then saying the Griz is far superior? Is there a better choice at the same or lesser price?


No, I'm not saying that.

I am saying that you are comparing two different types of saws. In terms of hammers - one is 4 oz. kid's hammer and the other a garden variety 16oz. claw hammer. They'll both hammer nails just like both saws will cut wood. You have to size the tool to the job though.

Re: price - I was ONLY referring to the Rikon - the SMALL saw. That saw is not unique to Rikon , it is sold by lots of companies and it's basically the same saw in all flavors - none of them appreciably better than the other. It was that saw I was saying is available for a lot less money from other companies. And, by extension IF you decide to to go that route - you should shop around for a better price than Rikon. Perhaps even used.

Now , as for what saw you should buy - I think the grizzly ( which is the ubiquitous "Delta Clone" ) is going to be a much better all around saw for you. The 10" Rikon is a good little saw for what it is - which is not a resaw machine or great at cutting odd shapes in thick material. Think cabriole legs. It's under powered, has a smaller cut capacity in both width and height.

The grizz has a real TEFC 1hp motor , not a toy motor like the Rikon, and 50% more cut capacity - which can be increased with a riser block to get you close to 12" of resaw capacity . The Rikon is fixed and with its motor , wouldn't be worth a darn if the height was increased.

[Derek Arita]

No, I'm not saying that.

I am saying that you are comparing two different types of saws. In terms of hammers - one is 4 oz. kid's hammer and the other a garden variety 16oz. claw hammer. They'll both hammer nails just like both saws will cut wood. You have to size the tool to the job though.

Re: price - I was ONLY referring to the Rikon - the SMALL saw. That saw is not unique to Rikon , it is sold by lots of companies and it's basically the same saw in all flavors - none of them appreciably better than the other. It was that saw I was saying is available for a lot less money from other companies. And, by extension IF you decide to to go that route - you should shop around for a better price than Rikon. Perhaps even used.

Now , as for what saw you should buy - I think the grizzly ( which is the ubiquitous "Delta Clone" ) is going to be a much better all around saw for you. The 10" Rikon is a good little saw for what it is - which is not a resaw machine or great at cutting odd shapes in thick material. Think cabriole legs. It's under powered, has a smaller cut capacity in both width and height.

The grizz has a real TEFC 1hp motor , not a toy motor like the Rikon, and 50% more cut capacity - which can be increased with a riser block to get you close to 12" of resaw capacity . The Rikon is fixed and with its motor , wouldn't be worth a darn if the height was increased.

Thanks Dave and I hear you. Actually, I kinda thought about it and decided to move up a bit, knowing what you're saying is probably right and the little saw would be too little in capacity. As it turns out, my local Rockler had an open-stand 14" Rikon that looked like a pretty nice little saw and it was at a pretty good price, so I went for it. It's not as small as I was originally thinking, but I think it will satisfy my meager needs, but not make me feel like I'm using a toy. Thanks all for your help. Now it's on to blade choices...
https://i.imgur.com/5KTsllR.png

[Wes Grass]

Nice!

I've been planning on adding a small saw at some point. Biggest reason is to avoid all the blade guide hassle when switching to a narrow blade. The other issue is the low table height on the big saw. It's awful for contouring. I figured a 10" Rikon/et-all would be a great choice, but likely I'd want the stand for it.

Wandering around a Woodcraft store, saw one on a stand. Looked perfect ... and then I realized I was looking at a 14". The 10", a couple saws away, looked pointless to me by comparison. And the floor space difference was pretty much a non issue.

If you do a lot of small work, it might be perfect. And the option of tucking it away under a bench might be important.

[John Kananis]

Congrats on your purchase. I think you're much better off with this model over the "little guy" you were considering. Especially in order to resaw anything at all.

[Curt Harms]

I have the Rikon 10-325 and recently had an incident with it. I’ll try to detail it here to help others repeating it. The drive belt is a poly groove flat belt tensioned by a flat idler pulley. The bearings were shielded not sealed. Eventually it got to where it felt like there was gravel in the bearings. Off to the local bearings and drives place where I got two sealed bearings. Removal of the old and re-installation of the new were uneventful. The idler pulley is held in place by a circlip.

I’m not sure what I did wrong but apparently I overstretched the circlip of something. After a few minutes run time BANG! The circlip was missing and the idler pulley had worked its way out to the lower wheel spokes. Bent the shaft the idler pulley runs on and the belt tensioning screw. The screw was in stock, the shaft was not and it took several weeks to get. I don't blame Rikon for the parts delay, they were far from the only ones with parts delays at that time. I was able to straighten the shaft enough that it ran sorta OK at low speed and the screw was usable if wobbly. I decided I wasn’t going to go with the circlip retainer again; figured I got lucky once and wasn’t going to risk it a second time. I drilled a hole in the end of the idler belt tensioner shaft, tapped it and added a screw and washer like the lower wheel. The screw head ticked occasionally on the lower bandsaw wheel so spaced the lower wheel out a little so it cleared the added screw. I’m pretty sure that won’t come loose. Just something to be aware of with this model saw.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Menards has the Rikon 10-305 on sale for $299.
The 10-305 is the 10" predecessor to the 10-306/10-3061.

It's the one that was cloned by so many others.

Just in case you're still thinking about a 10".

[Zachary Hoyt]

I have a 10-305 that I like a lot and use often, but it's pretty much maxed out for power resawing at 3" thick in cherry or walnut. I only do this on the little saw for one specific cut on a banjo neck blank, because there's a tight curve at the end. To do whole boards would be very tedious.

[Wes Grass]

Re the circlip issue, did you have the sharp face out? Its not unknown for them to pop off if there's a thrust load and the rounded face is out.

Pointless detail, in the tool and die world we referred to them as the 'draw' (rounded) and 'shear' (sharp) sides.

[Curt Harms]

Re the circlip issue, did you have the sharp face out? Its not unknown for them to pop off if there's a thrust load and the rounded face is out.

Pointless detail, in the tool and die world we referred to them as the 'draw' (rounded) and 'shear' (sharp) sides.

I didn't know there was a difference so don't know it was mounted. I don't know the price difference between shielded and sealed bearings but to me it makes no sense to use shielded bearings in a dusty environment. The lower wheel is going to need the bearings replaced soon for the same reason. I believe there's a lower maximum speed on sealed bearings but consumer/light commercial band saw wheels don't turn that fast.